Ok, we talked about this on another thread, but I thought it needed one of it's own....
Everyone keeps saying we haven't really played 'anybody' yet. That may be true, however...why is it that we went on the road and stomped a ranked SC team and all of the sudden they became a nobody? They are 4-2 and one of those losses is to us, the other to a pretty stout looking Kentucky team, that beat UF, who just beat LSU! So maybe SC isn't that bad afterall?
We bullwhipped Mizzou and they too suddenly became a 'nobody'....yet they too are 4-2 with a loss to us and one to the Gamecocks.
My point is, these teams haven't lost to highschool teams.
So, now I'm just wondering if we curb stomp LSU, are they all of the sudden going to become a 'nobody'?
And since we're talking about a team that hasn't played 'anybody' yet, someone explain to me who exactly Bama has beat that is a juggernaut? They've run the score up on a bunch of highschool teams themselves, but nobody seems to think they are overrated or anything? Shoot man, we've taken a knee a few times out of mercy, or we would have probably have put up 60 or 70 points on some folks as well.

Through six games this season UGA's strength of schedule ranks #62 out of 130 FBS teams per Jeff Sagarin Ratings. Moreover, none of the teams UGA has defeated are currently ranked in the AP or Coaches Top 25 Polls. That will change starting this week.

Records for teams UGA has played this season:

FCS Austin Peay: 3-3
South Carolina: 3-2
Middle Tennessee: 3-2
Missouri: 3-2
Tennessee: 2-3
Vanderbilt: 3-3

ESPN College Football Analyst Kirk Herbstreit:

"This is the stage that [UGA] need to go out and prove it, on the road in a tough environment, and they don't have to win by 20 or 30 points, but go in and take LSU's best shot, and survive it and try to move on. If they do that, then I think they're worthy of being one of the top two or three teams in the country."

Dilly, Dilly, Darin. I agree wholeheartedly. As frustrated as I have been at times watching us play, we still can be/play better and we are still winning comfortably. I agree that we haven't played the toughest schedule yet, but who has bammer or clempson beaten of consequence. Also, if we use top 25 wins to use as a gauge, that is also flawed because Aubie is still ranked in the top 25.

If we shore up the DL, and Jake learns to throw it away, instead of eating those coverage sacks, then we are going to be hard to handle. I like our passing game, and the running game seems on the rise. The secondary is the best in the country, and our LBs are growing up. We may catch up to bama, by the end.

Darin, you are exactly right.
Remember last year after we beat Notre Dame in a close game, they knocked ND out of the polls. That was a tad disrespectful to us. They didn't vote ND back into the polls until after they blew out Michigan St. Even then, every week was a "new test" for UGA. The new darling Miss St was supposed to give us a game. Then we were untested in an SEC road game in Knoxville. We were criticized for "struggling" against Missouri despite hanging 53 on them! Then, we'd certainly hit a stumbling block in Jax, and so on.

The reason stems from the fact that nearly every sports media personality is inherently lazy in their job. They will almost always do one of two things: a) they will stick to the same old "tried and true" headlines, or b) they will say something that, while not outright offensive or controversial, they hope will generate clicks or calls. For years they clung to the false narrative that UGA underachieved based on the talent we had. Because they are so lazy, they are ill-equipped to produce any intelligent dialogue when a program makes a major sea-change. We are no longer "underachieving", and we're not going anywhere. The pundits simply do not have the wherewithal to deal with that.

That will change over time. This year I think is a "transition year" for the talking hairdo's. If we make the CFP this year, we will begin to get the benefit of the doubt in the following seasons. If we just miss it this year, but make it the next two years, same thing. If we win the whole shebang, everything will accelerate (a'la Clemson). It can be a frustratingly slow process, but it will happen.

https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/sports/college/sec/georgia/no-georgia-ready-for-first-test-at-no-lsu/article_dea846d4-ded4-57b7-a642-319de7ba2244.html

The Bulldogs have averaged more than 43 points a game in defeating their first six opponents including SEC foes South Carolina, Missouri, Tennessee and Vanderbilt but their conference slate has been relatively soft. Their four SEC opponents have a collective 2-8 conference record.

Red, you are 100% correct. Rome wasn't built in a day, neither is respect nationally. If you watch a Bama or Clemson game, and then you watch a UGA game, that is where you see the difference. But guess what, those two have been in the playoffs for three straight years. They have earned that respect, while we are still working on it. Games like this Saturday will make a difference, as would a win over UF-who still gets the respect due to the somewhat recent past of Spurrier and especially Oscar Meyer. Our glory days were back in the early 80's, and that is where Clemson was before they made the run a couple years in a row-the term Clemsoning was attributed to them finding a way to lose a game they shouldn't, sometimes more than one every year. Now, you don't hear that any longer, all your hear about is the Clemson way, or they just reload here etc etc.

I am not sure what this season holds, but will have to sustain the success to get the respect. Everyone can point to next year but let's face it, the schedule next year is tougher than this year in my opinion-heck, just adding ND makes it tougher-we do get A&M at home thankfully but our talent base next year will be amazing and we will no longer be 68% FR/Soph, which should make a big difference. For this year, we NEED to win Saturday, we truly need to win out and face 12-0 Bama, and take our chances there. If we win that game or play a tight game, I think we will get even more respect but again, we have to EARN it. They don't want to give it to us, they love the long time national schools like Michigan, Ohio State, USC, and they prefer UF over UGA I believe, and they have no choice but to give Bama the love as they have earned it over and over and over.

All that being said, if we beat LSU, everyone will start saying LSU was overrated and this is what we expected from LSU this year. It will remind us all of what happened to South Carolina after we beat them. It is just how it goes, but UGA just needs to keep winning and try not to worry about any perception the media might have-and besides, we are ranked #2 right now, I am surprised Ohio State has not passed us yet, after the win at Penn State, I almost thought that was a given-so maybe we do have more respect than we think.

Haney, I agree that building respect takes time, but UGA has done that time. At least compared to teams in a similar situation. You mentioned Clemson. They were mired in irrelevant oblivion for a good 20 years. Dabo turned it around and they made the CFP for the first time in 2015. The next season in 2016, they were preseason #2, but after losing at home to a bad Pitt team mid-season, they only dropped 2 places in both the AP poll and the CFP rankings - from 2 to 4. Only 2 spots. Right now, if we lost at home to an unranked team, do you think for one second we'd drop only two places? I'd bet the mortgage we'd drop at least out of the top 5.

You're exactly right. After we beat LSU tomorrow, they'll be written off as a nobody. And no one will argue because their already slim CFP hopes will be over and their SEC-W chances will be on life support. Same thing that happened with USC earlier this year. Not a whole lot we can do about it other than keep winning.

RedDawg said:

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I agree that building respect takes time, but UGA has done that time.

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In the past 20 seasons (1998-2017) UGA has won the fourth most games in Division I-A/FBS and the most in the SEC:

1. Boise State: 213-46 (82.2%)
2. Ohio State: 198-48 (80.4%)
3. Oklahoma: 207-56 (78.7%)
4. UGA: 192-69 (73.6%)
5. TCU: 185-67 (73.4%)
6. Wisconsin: 191-71 (72.9%)
7. FSU: 181-69 (72.4%)
T8. LSU: 184-71 (72.2%)
T8. Oregon: 184-71 (72.%)
10. Virginia Tech: 189-73 (72.1%)

https://www.ajc.com/blog/mark-bradley/after-lsu-sobering-question-georgia-really-that-good/tCQmt77koVE14yaju9xsIN/

After LSU, a sobering question: Is Georgia really that good?
By Mark Bradley
14 October 2018

Of UGA's six victories, none is over a team above 500. Their four conference victories are over opponents that are a collective 3-11 in SEC play. They were exposed Saturday by an LSU team that had just lost to Florida, which is lugging a loss to Kentucky. They were beaten by 20 on a day when they were favored by a touchdown.

The 2018 Bulldogs are living off last season, which saw them play for the national championship, and their recruiting rankings.

Yep, until we beat UF in Jax (which is our season now) Bradley and others will have every reason to write articles just like he has-and who can disagree. I think we all have thought this team is not nearly to the level last year in many regards-certainly a lot less experience than the group last year. But the slow starts, the defense/special teams having to help the offense out, the defense being run on in sure run situations at Missouri, and now the total collapse in all phases at LSU.

This team has some holes in it and I think that includes coaching. How is it that UGA can get a FR QB ready to play early and often the last two years-Eason/Fromm, but can't yet trust Fields to come in and do anything but read option-and most of the time for one play in a series??? That is all on Kirby and Chaney, as if there was EVER a game that Fields needed to be inserted and given a couple series, it was at LSU. Maybe he makes costly mistakes but MAYBE he also sparks an offense that didn't know what to do-run game was having some success and since they don't let Fields throw, put him in and let him run the read option-it sure worked that one series at the end of the 3rd. Fromm was off with his throws, he took a sack that no veteran QB with his experience can afford to take-in a 10 point game and in FG range.

Kirby's fake FG was perhaps the biggest coaching blunder I have seen since Mark Richt's squib kick. If it was 4th and 2, MAYBE try something, and that is a MAYBE with how almost automatic Rod is from that distance. It was 4th and 9, and with a FG attempt a good 7-8 yards behind the LOS, Rod would have had to run the ball 16-17 yards to get a first down!! Think about that, and also you are putting your kicker (a valuable weapon) in harms way having him run the ball.

This two weeks is crucial for this season and quite possibly the next few years of UGA football. A lot of folks will question if last year was just a magical ride for us, also you have the lingering questions about our QB situation-and Smart did it to himself when he went out and signed the top 1 or 2 QB prospect in the nation. Fromm might have the experience but he has not been sharp this year-short passes had his completion percentage way up but he is been very shaky all year, and you have a valuable/talented kid waiting in the wings, and that kid can throw the ball but is not given the chance. I feel sure Fromm will start in Jax but I also feel sure Kirby knows this two week break better be used to get Fields ready to take over.

Haney said:

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Fromm was off with his throws, he took a sack that no veteran QB with his experience can afford to take-in a 10 point game and in FG range.

Kirby's fake FG was perhaps the biggest coaching blunder I have seen since Mark Richt's squib kick. If it was 4th and 2, MAYBE try something, and that is a MAYBE with how almost automatic Rod is from that distance. It was 4th and 9, and with a FG attempt a good 7-8 yards behind the LOS, Rod would have had to run the ball 16-17 yards to get a first down!! Think about that, and also you are putting your kicker (a valuable weapon) in harms way having him run the ball.

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You're 100% correct. Kirby unnecessarily gambled on a 4th-and-9 from LSU's 14-yd line on the fake FG attempt. Instead of tying the game 3-3 w/ a 31-yd FG attempt late in the 1st qtr on the road which would have quieted the crowd, Kirby elected to have Rodrigo run 20 yds to get a first down. Instead, Blankenship got blown up for a 2-yd loss and the wheels then came off the cart for the Dawgs the rest of the half. Then in the second half Kirby/Chaney inexplicably pulled Fields on LSU's 34-yd line, Fromm is inserted and takes a terrible 9-yd sack. Instead of cutting LSU's deficit to 19-12 on a 51-yd FG attempt (certainly within Rodrigo's range), the sack forced the Dawgs to punt and they never threatened again (and were outscored 17-7 the rest of the way).